H olter monitoring is becoming a more commonly used
tool in veterinary medicine to document and quantitate
the severity and frequency of cardiac arrhythmias.1-4 The information
obtained from the holter monitor can be correlated
with the patients clinical signs and assess the need for antiarrhythmic
therapy. The advent of this diagnostic test has
demonstrated that the incidence of serious arrhythmias is
much greater than previously determined using routine electrocardiography.
5 A resting electrocardiogram is typically recorded
for several seconds to several minutes and is likely to
miss or underestimate the underlying arrhythmia. Holter
monitors are commonly recorded for a 24 to 48 period and
are more likely to detect a significant arrhythmia when
present. Holter monitoring is a simple and noninvasive test
that can be done in any clinic to diagnose, treat, and monitor
cardiac arrhythmias.